Life, 1902-12-25 · page 31 of 77
Life — December 25, 1902 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **full-page advertisement**, not a political cartoon or satire. It promotes "No. 4711" glycerine soap manufactured by Ferd. Mülhens of Cologne, Germany. The ad features an elegant woman in an Edwardian-era dress viewing a shop window display of White Rose branded products and glycerine soap boxes. The image emphasizes luxury and refinement through the woman's fashionable silhouette and the floral setting. The marketing claims include purity, superior perfume, and a notable endorsement: the soap was "used for years in the Court of H.I.M. the Emperor of Russia"—a status symbol suggesting imperial approval and exclusivity. The tagline "Transparent as crystal / Fragrant as flowers" appeals to contemporary beauty standards. This represents early 20th-century advertising's reliance on aristocratic prestige and femininity to sell personal care products to middle-class consumers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1 jase WitAITEE sROSEs LU SRST) BD (GLYGERINE SOAP., | f f TRANSPARENT AS CRYSTAL.“ | FRAGRANT AS FLOWERS The best glycerine Soap, “No. 4711.” Its purity is absolute ; its perfume unequalled. Used for years in the Court of H. I. M. the Emperor Can be applied to the most tender and delicate skin. of Russia. Manufactured by FERD. MULHENS, Cologne 0/R, Germany. Sole U. S. Agents, MULHENS & KROPFF, 298 Broadway, New York. Send 15 cents for full size sample cake, comicbooks.com,